Search Results for: blog saying goodbye the rainbow bridge

Saying Goodbye to Miko

Don’t know who Miko is? Look here. ~~~~ Friday night was perfectly normal. TV and dinner followed, and Miko helped me eat the chicken on my salad. He curled up at my side to sleep. Saturday morning, he was gone. He had left the bed to go into the back room and drift away in peace. At first, I thought he was sleeping. But when he didn’t respond to any amount of noise I made, the horrible truth hit me. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the sunny safety of the kitchen and touch him to verify. I was afraid … Continue reading →

Seven Years Later: Thoughts on the Pets of 9/11

Over in Marriage I wrote about what I think about on September 11 as it pertains to love and relationships. But another loving relationship I think about today is the one so many of us have with our animals. Last year I wrote about the pets of 9/11. I did a little research into finding out if all the pets belonging to people affected by the attacks were okay. They were. Today as I contemplate the events of September 11, 2001, I’m thinking about the pets and people who survived. (I guess I should be clear here. Only one pet, … Continue reading →

When a Dog Goes Blind

My next door neighbor’s dog, Simba, has had a rough road lately. First he was diagnosed with diabetes and Cushing’s syndrome, then shortly after that (not even a week later) he went blind. How They Knew Simba Was Blind When I was little, our family dog Mike went blind. I don’t remember exactly when it happened or how we knew. I’m fairly sure my dad was the first to notice it. I got to thinking about that because I asked my neighbors how they figured out Simba was blind. It’s not like he can just shout all of a sudden, … Continue reading →

Tough Decisions: Watch the Euthanasia or Not?

April always brings to mind Budly because he was born during this month and died during it too. (Born April 21; Died April 23) Among the many memories I have him, the one that is guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes and which still haunts my heart is his very last moments. The ones right before he was euthanized. We were given the option to be in the room, or to wait outside until it was done and then come in to say our final goodbyes. Wayne and I didn’t even need a moment to discuss it. We wanted … Continue reading →

Religion and Animals

The other night on the news they ran a story about orangutans eating matzah crackers in observance of Passover at the Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan in Israel. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and while it was a cute story I couldn’t help but wonder: do you think those orangutans care if they’re kosher or not? I’m willing to believe they don’t, but because their handlers are Jewish and it’s their way of life so it becomes the orangs way too. Or does it? Maybe they don’t always follow a kosher diet. But if they did, what about … Continue reading →

More Viral Animal Emails: Breathtaking

My inbox benefited from the addition of a few more of what I call “viral animal emails” that have caught my attention again. (The others I’ve written about are listed below under “Related Articles.”) These took my breath away. It’s amazing what people sometimes capture with cameras. The Bear on Rainbow Bridge – September 2007 When I first saw this one and read the description of the bear on Rainbow Bridge the first thing that came to my mind was the Rainbow Bridge often referred to when pets pass. It wasn’t the same bridge. This one had a description with … Continue reading →

Squirrel Appreciation Week: Remembering Rudy First

Earlier this year I wrote about how what you think about grows and how thoughts attract things. In that case it was how Murph must think about nice people and pets because he always seems to attract them. But it’s happened to me before too. In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Week, I thought I’d share the tale of Rudy First. The Fall Shortly before the bands of Hurricane Frances wreaked havoc on the neighborhood where we lived in Jacksonville, a funny thing happened. I kept hearing people tell stories about seeing baby squirrels or coming across them somehow. I lamented … Continue reading →

Leona Helmsley’s $12 Million Bequest to Her Dog

As I often do when I eat breakfast, I watched the Today Show this morning. I tuned in right as Ann Curry interviewed a lady from Court TV about the late Leona Helmsley bequeathing $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble. I guess the big hoopla has to do with the fact that not only did she specifically not leave anything to two of her four grandchildren, but she either didn’t leave a dime to her 12 great-grandchildren or what she did leave was ridiculously small compared to the largest bequest she made –the $12 million to Trouble, who at eight-years-old … Continue reading →

Meet the Josephs

Tucker Joseph with his Aunt Court and Uncle Wayne Labor Day Weekend 2006 I’d like to introduce you to some very dear friends of mine, the Josephs: Michael, Karen and Tucker, the 80 pound wonder dog. (a.k.a. Murphy’s best friend.) When we lived in Jacksonville, the Josephs lived at the top of our block. They moved into their house right around the same time we moved into ours. I remember thinking as I’d see Karen walk Tucker up and down our street, “My golly, that’s a big dog for that lady. I hope she can handle him.” Well, of course … Continue reading →

Can They Sense Death’s Presence?

In previous blogs I wrote how I suspected both Mackie and Budly knew their time was up when they died. Both acted differently than normal, broke their routines, seemed as if they were trying to savor their last moments as well as communicate with their humans that it was time to part ways. But can other animals also sense when the Angel of Death is hovering near? Do Cats Have More Than Good Night Vision? Something I don’t believe I’ve previously shared about Budly’s passing was that he wasn’t the only one acting strange –so was Mr. Meow. The night … Continue reading →